Eirian's letter had arrived quickly, and it was the only reason Eric wasn't already riding to the Camelia with the Imperial Army.
She'd written to wait. Things were happening and she wanted time to investigate. His beloved cousin loved her problem solving. She must have found something interesting to dig into. She'd also noted that her new husband was not as expected that he'd been under the impression the negotiations were well know.
Her father, Eric's Uncle and the current Lord Soliel, had sent Eric a message welcoming him back and inviting him to dinner the afternoon he'd returned, again that night, and again this morning.
Eric had yet to respond, and another message had come just as he was leaving for the palace. He wasn't close to his uncle, wouldn't say Eirian was particularly close to her father either after the man had spent most of her childhood lost in a wine cask.
Now it was clear he was getting nervous, desperate for a chance to make his case to Eric before Eric told his father.
Will had reported that he'd accepted a large bride price, so large that Will didn't believe what he'd heard and was still trying to sneak in and get in the Soliel vault to see. Because he was still a member of the ruling family, Lord Soliel was required to report any income outside the Royal Allotment he received monthly. Eric could check the registry after talking to his father and if his Uncle hadn't reported it, or if the number seemed lower than what Will found, Eric had an excuse to take the City Guard and visit the estate.
First he had to talk to his father.
The King was a busy man and Eric, despite being his heir, had only managed to get a promise of a few minutes between council meetings. He'd been waiting in the King's private solarium in the palace for almost an hour before he finally heard the doors open and then heavy footfalls.
Eric straightened his sleeves as his father entered and dropped into a deep bow. "Your Highness."
"Get up, boy. I don't have long." King Jacques Soliel had taken the throne when he was few years older than Eric now, at 28 when his own father had died on the battlefield. He was tall, nearly six feet that Eric had only surpassed at the end of his last growth spurt. He was still an attractive man, despite his age and a belly that was barely contained by his robes, with the family's signature pale moon colored hair, bright eyes, and sharp jawline. Despite a life of indulgence in any number of vices, it only showed in the gut he'd had since before Eric was born and in ever increasing appetites.
Wine, women, and power had always been Jacques Soliel's heart's desire, and he indulged his every whim when it came to them. Eric was terrified of falling into the same weakness as his father and avoided all three.
Though he could no longer avoid power since he'd become the heir, but he viewed it far more negatively than his father did. To the point that several senior members of the council had started speaking against him, an early attempt to oust him before he took the throne because they were afraid, he'd be less malleable to their machinations than his father was when one of his vices was waved in front of his face.
Eric had only just started to know his father in the two years since his last sibling had died and while he respected many of the choices he had made as King, he didn't think he was worth much as a man and he was terrified of turning into someone just like him.
Jacques sat on the velvet couch in the center of the room and waved at Eric to sit across from him. "Out with it. I don't have much time."
"Of course. Eirian is gone."
'Gone? Gone where? She find another little war to fight?" Jacques was fond of his niece and had always encouraged the friendships between his children and Eirian, though only Eric had developed a strong relationship with her.
"No, Uncle arranged her marriage to Lord Ye of the Camelia." Eric stated and then braced himself.
For all that his father was weak to his vices, the same could not be said of his temper.
***
Eirian had enjoyed a certain level of protection because of her Uncle's affection. Before now, any attempt to marry her off had failed because King Jacques refused to force her into a marriage she did not want and because, when Eric had become his heir, she had become Eric's and there was concern about whoever might end up serving as her husband.
Her father had sparked his old brother's ire with his second marriage not that long ago. Jacques had been very, very fond of Eirian's mother.
So fond in fact, that both Eirian and Eric were convinced she'd been his mistress for most of her marriage, if not before. The King had frequently invited her to stay at the palace whenever Eirian's father was out of the city and often visited even when he was home, despite the strained relationship between the brothers.
Neither man spoke of their childhood, and aside from the court observations of their childhood, there were only rumors as to why the two brothers had fallen out when they were teenagers. It had happened so long before Jacques had taken the throne that Eirian's father's ambition had actually fallen out of favor as the main theory.
Eric had never asked his father about it directly, though he and Eirian had their own suspicions, but watching his father snap at his aide to cancel the rest of his meetings and bring the carriage around brought all their suspicions back to the forefront. Eirian's father had always been quick to be critical of the King, but Jacques had always been equally quick to assume the worst about his younger brother.
And marrying off a member of the King's family without the King's permission, regardless of whether or not you were in the family yourself, was tantamount to treason.
They climbed into the carriage, the footmen scurrying around with their heads bowed, recognizing the ill temper of their King.
Jacques had never been good at hiding his anger and while he was rarely physically violent outside the battlefield, he was not known to be forgiving of anyone who crossed him.
"Explain." Jacques demanded once they were finally underway.
"Eirian wrote me, apparently while I was gone her father informed her of the marriage agreement and shipped her out the same day. She was barely allowed to pack her things. That was a week and a half ago now."
"Lord Ye requested her specifically? Some kind of powerplay?"
"Eirian doesn't think so. Apparently, he was just looking for someone to help him elevate the Camelia. They'd fallen out of society in recent years."
Jacques nodded, "It's been some time since they sent someone to court, but they've been struggling to control the border for the last few decades."
"From her letter, he claims he reached out without someone in mind and that her mother," Eric was prepared for it, so he didn't flinch at the rage on his father's face at the word, "and father responded and were negotiating with him for some time before they came to an agreement."
"And she just went?" Jackes growled.
"She fell out with Philip around the same time, I imagine it was just a moment of weakness."
"When is she returning?"
Eric shifted, uncomfortable. "She is not at the moment. Her choice," he added quickly to head off any more anger. "She's looking into something suspicious at the Camelia. Thinks it may have some effect on the Empire."
"Good girl, she'd always been a smart one."
Eric nodded. "She is also, somewhat convinced, that Lord Ye was under the impression the marriage was approved by the throne."
Jacques' face twisted, sorrow and anger all mixed together. After a moment he spoke. "It seems my brother is still in the habit of putting word in my mouth. Perhaps I have been too lenient with him."
~ tbc